Force of Gravity
by Yoru Inu
Summary: Can someone give everything up for a love and life they didn't even know they lost, even if they truly want to? She wonders this, as the true memories of a ten month long coma come back to haunt her already troubled heart. HitsugayaOC
1. Prologue To Forget and Remember

_Tsukiiro Kaiya was a girl of many mysteries._

_Born within the bosom of a normal, sweet family, Tsukiiro Kaiya could see things no one could since she was a very small child. As years progressed and Kaiya continued to speak of spirits and monsters that ate the spirits, her mother became worried for her mental health, so the help of a physiatrist was enlisted._

_The physiatrist couldn't find anything abnormal about her, and came to the conclusion that Kaiya only wanted to call her parents' attention. Her parents did everything in their power to dedicate as much time as they could to her. These actions didn't put her to ease, for she still saw the spirits and the monsters. But then came the black robbed people, which defeated the monsters._

_All these, Kaiya kept to herself after the physiatrist episode; she never spoke of it again, but that didn't mean that she was blind to them._

_After living under the torturing fear for many years, Kaiya stumbled upon an old man that lived in a shrine. This man was kind and young in spirit, and told Kaiya many stories, and taught her many things._

_But one fateful day, his body was found, with many deep wounds, and Kaiya was found not far, with a few scratches, lying under the shade of a fallen tree._

_The police said it was an assassination attempt, and that Kaiya was lucky to be even alive; she never told anyone the real reason of the old man's death._

_During the end of Autumn of her sixteenth year, Tsukiiro Kaiya was taken to her mother by a young woman that became her martial arts teacher a few months prior._

_After many failed attempts, her family was unable to wake her up, and was taken to a hospital instead. There, she was pronounced comatose. _

_She woke up ten months after. She was not able to remember the reason why she fell into a coma. The doctor said that she might have blocked it as a self-defense measure._

_Kaiya settled back into normal life. For a short while._

**_

* * *

_**

* * *

**_-..Prologue; To Forget and Remember_**..-

_-...-_

_Hizunda kioku no you na toki no naka de itsuka wakari aeru kara._

-...-

The days that passed never blurred together for her. She was never able to confuse one day with another anymore, for each day, something else happened.

Everyday she risked her life, and every morning she woke up feeling empty and sad. And she couldn't comprehend the reason why.

Tsukiiro Kaiya had everything anyone could wish for. And yet she wanted something more. Her heart called out to something she couldn't quite name. In the morning she woke up, after dreaming of something she wouldn't be able to recall, she touched her wet cheeks, tasted the bitter taste of tears; and she didn't even know the reason why she cried in her sleep.

Those nights when dreams didn't come, or those times in which she sought to escape from the material world, she would find herself deep within her own mind; a gaze of icy red would greet her own lost one, and she would find comfort in the total silence.

Sometimes, the owner of the icy red gaze, a huge blue dragon, would hold quiet conversations with her, or would agree to a friendly match that left her totally spent.

She no longer asked questions the dragon couldn't answer, and it didn't respond with silence any more.

The accident she suffered at the age of sixteen, that made her lose a little bit less than a year of her life, was never again mentioned. Not with her family, or with the dragon that inhabited her mind. She knew that the dragon's presence was a direct consequence of whatever had happened during the time she was in a coma.

She knew that she didn't know the whole picture, and that she had forgotten something that once had been very important.

She no longer tried to remember; she just placed that time in the back of her mind and moved on. She entered Tokyo's University; even though she had to travel there everyday by train –which somehow seemed a very familiar thing, but again something was missing-, became the female division archery team's captain at the end of her first year, and started taking as many classes as she could to fill the empty void in her heart.

She let her hair grow way past how she used to wear it. She had a small group of friends, males and females, and a loving boyfriend. And yet she felt as if something was missing, and so utterly alone.

A movement against her shoulder jerked her out of her quiet musings, and she blinked, turning to stare directly into a pair of ruby eyes and a familiar blue snout. "What's wrong?" She asked. Her voice echoing through the endless emerald green plains of her mind.

"_You had been spacing out for too long. I was getting worried." _The dragon's voice was like a gentle murmur in her mind. She could never really understand why the dragon worried so much for her, starting from his constant insistence to train her powers –which he did himself-, to materializing each and every time she was injured during a fight with a hollow.

But she just couldn't mind the dragon's over protective nature. There was something in him that made her feel almost complete.

She never asked the reason why, and the dragon never bothered to tell her either.

"_How was your day, Kaiya?" _He asked, and they settled back into the usual conversations. It was not a strange thing for the dragon to ask things about her, or ask what she was thinking about. She also asked things about him, and he told her many things, but sometimes he remained silent; and she never asked about it again.

"It was fine," Kaiya answered, resting her back against the dragon's back when he settled on the grass behind her. "The usual. Class then archery practice in the afternoon."

"_And your family?" _

Kaiya smiled. "Nee-san brought Kenji-chan today," She said, closing her eyes and relaxing back as she told the dragon about her three year old nephew. "They seem awfully happy."

The dragon laid his head on the grass and closed his eyes. _"Aa, those that are blind to danger worry about the silliest things, and it seems your sister and her family has no worries at the moment. Do you envy them, Kaiya?"_

Kaiya sighed, her eyes slid open and focused on the unmoving clouds. "Sometimes I do. Other times I am grateful because I can protect them."

The dragon remained quiet, but nodded softly. _"Your mother approaches. Seems it's time to get up." _He told her softly. Kaiya nodded and stood up. With a quick "bye" Kaiya's form faded from the place, leaving the dragon alone. He flew softly towards what looked like a frozen waterfall. It was connected to a canal that was like a dry small river.

His eyes settled on the frozen waterfall, and he could hear the water rushing underneath, trying to escape from were it was trapped. The ice itself held many cracks, which were getting bigger and longer with each day that passed, he noted.

It was just a matter of time before it broke completely.

(_Aa- Basicaly means yes_)

* * *

Kaiya stretched her muscles with a yawn that same afternoon. 

The day's classes had been particularly stressful. And her teachers didn't help much with the matter at all.

"Tsukiiro-buchou?" A hesitant voice made her turn from the target range in the archery club to her short fukubuchou, who was accompanied by two freshmen girls. "These two want to join, but they do not know how to handle a bow. Can you help me teach them?"

Kaiya smiled gently. "Of course!"

Both girls smiled widely and bowed. "Arigatou gozaimashita!"

Kaiya shook her head. "Douitashimashte, sa koi!" She ushered them to the bow rack, her fukubuchou trailing behind with a relieved smile.

Standing in front of the bow rack, Kaiya took a bow and tested it's weight. After several tries, she found a bow that seemed appropriate. She gave it to the shorter of the two. "Feel it's weight," She instructed in a soft voice. "Is it comfortable?"

The girl nodded. "Hai!"

She did the same with the other, which was slightly harder, but she still managed to find a good bow for her. After getting them some arrows, she led them back to the shooting platform.

She taught them the correct way to stand, then she stood behind the shorter girl and grabbed her right arm and outstretched it softly.

She help her set the arrow next with careful movements and a soothing gentle voice. She told the girl to hold the arrow, while she placed her hand over the girl's. Then she drew the arrow back smoothly. "Take in the form, aim for the target, and relax."

The girl did as she was told, she aimed as best as she could, then her tense shoulders relax. "Good," Kaiya complimented. "Take a deep breath…and release." She opened her hand at the same time the girl's did, and the arrow whistled through the air until it pierced the target on the last ring. "Not bad." She smiled.

A sudden flash of a memory ran through her mind, followed by a sharp wave of pain as she tried to recall the blurry image she had seen by a split second. She clutched her head in pain as she struggled to remember.

She felt it was something important, so she fought desperately to remember. The worried voices of those around her blurred together until she couldn't distinguish one from another.

'_Help!' _Her mind screamed when the pain became terrible. And her world became black as she fainted on the wooden floor.

(_Arigatou gozaimashita- Formal way of saying thank you. / Douitashimashite- You are welcome. / Sa, koi- Ok then, come_.)

* * *

When she came back to herself, she was no longer on the archery range. Instead she recognized the endless plains, and the dry river near of where she was. 

The blue dragon was curled around where she now sat. _"Are you okay, Kaiya? What happened?" _She heard the worry in the dragon's voice, saw it in his eyes.

"I tried to remember something, but then the terrible pain came. Again."

The dragon didn't say anything, and she didn't either. Instead she stood carefully up, noting that the headache was completely gone. She stood on the dry soil of the canal, and sighed. _'I wonder what it was.' _She though as she walked away through the canal. The dragon didn't follow, feeling her desire to be alone.

Immersed in her thoughts, she didn't notice how close she was to the waterfall until she was a few meters away from it. She heard a cracking noise and looked up. The cracks on the ice were getting bigger and bigger, and water had started to slid out from them.

Smaller cracks were made near the bigger ones, and so forth, until all the ice was full of cracks. With a sickening final "crack" the water rushed out, through the canal, and towards her with a roar.

Her eyes widened, and her body froze. _"HYOURINMARU!!" _She screamed the dragon's name in terror as the water swallowed her whole, and memories flashed back into her mind.

The dragon landed near the now flowing river, sank his head on the purplish water, and fished Kaiya out. But it was too late, she was soaked to the bone, soaked with her own sealed memories.

_To be Continued..._

* * *

**There you have it, a new idea of mine. I've been watching Bleach lately, and this idea popped into my head and here I am...**

**I hope you enjoyed it! And don't forget to review!**


	2. Chapter I: The Pleace of Our Meeting

_New chappie guys! I apologize if I'm taking too long to update, but school has been pretty crazy lately, and I barely have time to write._

_This story will be based on both, the anime and manga, but for the time being I'm following the manga's storyline (well, slightly.) meaning this story ignores the Bounto arch of the anime. Now please go ahead and read, and don't forget to leave your thoughts on the way out. _

**_Reviews:_**

_**Minikitteno5: **I'm glad you are wasting some of your time to read this story. Anyways, here's the next chapter, please do enjoy._

_**InEspertaNinja:** You certainly asked many questions, but don't worry, you'll fiund the answers to all those sooner or later. Besides, I like questions._

_**NotSupposedToBeHere:** I updated! Now you can find out what happens next!_

_**Yukiko Tsukishirou:** PLEASE DON'T KILL YOURSELF! That's be one less review for me! (kiddn' ya!) Glad you like my story, and here is the first chapter, so don't suffer any more ne?_

_**Wini Belle:** Here's an update, now come read, you know you want tooo!_

_**Ritsikas: **Here's another chapter, read and enjoy! I'll try to have the next one soon._

_**Glossary**_

_**Ryoka- **Human/mortal (Or something like that...)_

_**Shinigami- **Death God_

_**Yoroshiku- **Pleasure to meet you._

_**Kaze chikara o kaeshite, kusari to nare- **Wind, lend me your power and become a chain._

_(Please forgive any spelling mistakes.)_

_

* * *

_

_The sudden turn in life had started three and several months ago, almost four._

_With Aizen's whereabouts unknown, despair and worry had settled over Soul Society like a black winged bird; a bad omen that at the moment couldn't be eliminated._

_Aizen was just that, and as long as no one knew where he was, they were vulnerable to any surprise attack. For this very reason, Yamamoto-Genryusai had decided to send a small group of high level shinigami to the living world; which was believed to be Aizen's primary target._

_Matsumoto Rangiku, Abarai Renji and Kuchiki Rukia had agreed to go almost enthusiastically, Yumichika had always been one curious creature, Ikkaku and Hitsugaya had agreed, however reluctantly._

_But appearances led to false assumptions, and soon the shinigami squads, in Soul Society and in the living world, found out they had thought the wrong thing._

_The Ou Ken, which Aizen was planning on using for possibly over throwing the king of Soul Society, had two different forms of release:_

_The first and the "common" one was to gather a thousand souls, to do this, it was believed that he planned to use the whole population of Karakura Town._

_The second one, discovered by Kurotsuchi after much research, was to find the thirteen fragments of the Ou Ken's power, which were guarded by a sage; a human with the ability to turn their reiatsu into purifying waves. The Ou Ken's release could be achieved by only gaining seven of the thirteen fragments._

_This new discovery led to a race against time. Soul Society was able to gather six sages, while Aizen got six of the remaining seven._

_The last sage, according to Kurotsuchi's report, had been found lifeless in the temple grounds after the battle against a hollow that ended in the death of both._

_With the sage dead, and the presence of the fragment unable to be felt, its location was lost to Soul Society._

_Given the importance of this last fragment, Yamamoto-Genryusai sent a small team of captains in search of it. Hitsugaya was between the ones sent. _

_For his searching grounds the state of Chiba was chosen._

_That is how they met…

* * *

_

_**-..Chapter I**:** The Place of our Meeting..-**_

**_-...-_**

_Ano chiisana machi de... Bokutachi ga deatta_

**_-...-_**

****

Onjuku was a relatively small place. A peaceful fishing village, the townsfolk were kind and polite, with greeting smiles and active movements.

The city streets were full of people of all ages; kids that rushed to primary school from home, mothers doing some shopping, fathers walking from or to the train station, high school students walking or riding bicycles heading to their respective schools.

She was one of those students, currently passing through her second year of high school. By looks and academic efforts she was considered as ordinary as they came.

But she was the current fuku-buchou of the female division archery club. She was skilled, and her aim was pretty good, but still her captain bested her in everything.

Her captain was a third year student. Tall, with beautiful raven black hair and sharp silver eyes; a straight "A" student in all subjects, polite, well mannered, of a good family and a very skilled archer.

And yet, even though she was as perfect as any girl could become, she was one of the loneliest people she had ever met.

Her own family was not rich, but she had something her captain didn't; a united and affectionate family. It was her mother who greeted her when she came back to school, who cooked all the food and kissed her goodnight before she went to bed each night.

Her father was busy with work during the day, but almost never missed dinner. He helped her whenever he could with any homework she was struggling with, and sometimes took her out to buy things she needed in the weekends.

Her older brother was in his last year of High School, and would be leaving the following year to study college in Europe. Her older sister was about to finish her career in Tokyo, and would be getting married the following autumn.

Her captain's parents were too busy to even eat dinner with her, and she didn't have any siblings, older or younger. Because of that, she sometimes found herself pitying the older girl.

She stepped inside the train that would take her to the heart of Chiba. The ride was quiet and lonesome, she had no one to pass it with, and it was mostly empty; after all, not a lot of people got on that train at that hour.

She sighed and sat down, her violet gaze getting lost in the emerald green blur of rice plantings on the sides of the rail road, with the mountains stretching in the background. She was used to the silence of those lonesome trips.

A loud bang jerked her violently from her musings. A scream got caught in her throat as she was thrown rather brutally on the floor as the train jerked and rolled as it fell from the road into the tall plants. She groaned, trying to slide back desperately into focus, she stood up, her arms and legs shaky and full of scratches from the crystal shards that she had rolled over on the floor.

She cursed, rather loudly and un-lady like. She looked up, and through the window, all blood drained from her face, her eyes widened and her pupils contracted in fear. It was a reaction she could no longer hold back, after many years of fearing creatures no one around her could see. "Hollow." The whisper left her lips before she could make a conscious reaction of stopping it.

Her senses tingled with the knowledge, her body tensed as her power breathed to life once more in her blood. She stood up from the floor, the pain when the scratches in her legs and arms stretched was lost in her blurred mind. She could no longer think clearly, and she was moving out of instinct more than anything else. And the desire to survive.

A small, black and white robbed figure jumped out of nowhere, wielding sword in hand, and towards the hollow. She thought she heard the sword howl as its owner swung it in a wide horizontal arch.

The hollow raised its hard limbs, protecting its more delicate chest from the attack, then in a sharp movement, it hit the black and white robbed figure with brutal strength.

She saw the blood even from where she was, her sight was much better than the average human, and even though she didn't know the reason why it was so, she had learned to make the most of it. The figure fell into the grass, and when whoever it was didn't stand up again, the hollow approached with a menacing look in its empty eyes.

She closed her eyes, willing her power to come alive in her right hand as she stood with her legs slightly apart and her body facing the hollow. She raised her right hand, palm facing the hollow and whispered under her breath. "Kaze, chikara o kaeshite." Small rings of wind formed around her wrist, spinning madly as the wind around her gathered, blowing her clothes gently. "Kusari to nare!"

She shouted the last part, her command, and the wind gathered around the hollow, trapping its limbs in a grip so strong it was unable to break. The figure, which was standing up slowly, whipped its head towards her in shock. A gaze of cold aquamarine met her own violet one, and she was finally able to see the figure clearly.

It was a young man apparently, spiked silvery white hair, serious eyes of green and blue. He was dressed in a black hakama and kosode, the haori over them was long and pristine white. There was a bleeding gash in his chest, and a dark purple handled katana gripped firmly in his right hand.

He turned away from her, intent of slaying the creature in front of him as it struggled to get rid from the wind's hold.

One more jump and a quick slice, both done with a grace she thought impossible in any human, ended the hollow's existence.

He landed between the tall grasses, body half hidden from her view, and turned once more towards her. Their gazes met across the green plains they stood in, his eyes were unreadable, but she held them for a moment before they closed, and the man fell unconscious.

She blinked in shock, before breaking into a run to where the young man was. "Oi!! Don't you dare fall unconscious!!" She shouted as she reached him. Alas it was too late, for the person laid in a heap on the wet floor. And to her surprise it was not a young man but a _kid. _She kneeled down next to him eyeing the wound with a critical eye. It was not that deep, but it was not the only on his body either; who knows for how long he had been fighting the hollow. Then it dawned on her that the kid in front of her was a shinigami.

Weighting her options, she decided that waiting for the police and ambulances was a bad idea, she had just been scratched slightly, and in the other hand it would be plain weird to move around normal people with an injured and unconscious shinigami.

With a long tired sight, she sheathed his sword and managed to get him on her back. Thankfully he was shorter and light, so the trip back home was not that difficult.

It seemed that she was not going to school.

By mid-day she had treated the boy's wounds, and had him nestled comfortably in her bed, a bowl of rice and miso soup were ready to be re-heated once he woke up. Again she thanked whoever god was listening that all her family was out for the following two days; otherwise they would have thought she had gone crazy.

She had just finished washing some dishes when she heard the stumbling steps on the stairs of her house. She rushed towards the sound to find her host trying to get down on shaky legs.

"You finally woke up." She stated, walking slowly towards him. He jerked his head up, surprise in his eyes before it turned into cool consideration as he stared her down.

"Who are you?" He asked in the same tone that his eyes mirrored.

"Tsukiiro Kaiya, sixteen years old, high school student," She started with hands on her hips. "Yoroshiku."

He remained quiet, looking down at her critically. "You are the ryoka that was there during my fight with the hollow."

"Indeed."

His eyes narrowed. She was, indeed, only a ryoka, but he knew better than look down on a ryoka, the image of an orange haired youth flashed in his mind. "Where am I?"

"My house," Kaiya responded almost instantly. "You were unconscious and hurt, so I brought you here. Need help?" She asked, her eyes never leaving his own.

"No." He replied curtly, and continued to struggle down the stairs. Once he stood in front of her, glaring daggers, his stomach growled loudly. Kaiya snorted in laughter.

"Come." She motioned with a hand. "I'll get you something to eat."

The boy followed, albeit unwillingly, but he was quite hungry.

He sat on the table, and Kaiya placed the recently heated rice and miso in front of him, "Here." He stared at her for a moment, still glaring, as she sat down in front of him, then he grabbed the chopsticks and started eating.

"What's your name?" Kaiya asked, but the boy glared. "I can't go around calling you boy or kid, now can I?" He plainly ignored her. "Nor can I call you shinigami-san," She added with a lopsided grin, and the boy chocked on his food.

He stared at her, suspicion evident in his eyes. "How?"

"Hollows and shinigami are not a new addition in my life, I've seen both since I was very young," Kaiya said, head resting on a hand.

The boy stared a bit more, then continued eating. "Hitsugaya Toshirou," He said in between bites.

"Well, Hitsugaya-san, yoroshiku." Kaiya repeated with a smile. Histugaya stared at her some more, face expressionless, then he nodded his head.

"_Yoroshiku."_


	3. Chapter II: In The Absence

**IMPORTANT!!: I know that some pleople got confused, so I'm clearing things up. From chapter 1 onwards, Kaiya is re-living, so to say, what happened during the time she had forgotten. (See prologue for especific time) meaning that in the prologue, Kaiya was older (in University) while from chapter 1 and on she's 16 years old. The chapters will eventualy lead to what happens in the prologue. Hope I cleared things up. n.n**

**Reviews:**

**Coco0106: **_Here is another chapter, and you'll learn a little bit more of Kaiya. There are still many mysteries sorrounding her though, and this chapter will only bring more questions without answers, you are free to guess though!_

**Animefangirlforever: **_Another chappie. I hope it's as awsome as the last (hopefully more)_

**NotSuppousedToBeHere:** _Glad you liked the last chapter, hopefully this one as well._

**Yukiko: **_Thanks for correcting me, Tsuki-chan. I just noticed that Hitsu's sword handle is green in the manga laughs that what happens when you don't pay attention. You know, just now I realized... If you die you can't continue to read... _

**InEspertaNinja:** _This is, hopefully, another great chapter._

**Xenocanaan: **_Glad you like this weird story of mine._

**Ritsikas: **_BACK AGAIN!! AND WITH AN UPDATE!! Please enjoy the chapter._

**Blue-Flame: **_I updated! And I'm glad you like the story. Please do enjoy this new chapter._

**Erina: **_Yes, I know what you mean, there are not enough HitsuxOC stories around, shame really. Glad you think my story is a promising one and I'm glad you think my writting style is a pleasure to read. There WILL be romance in the future, and drama as well. But you won't know why Hyourinmaru was in Kaiya's mind and not with Hitsugaya until almost the end of the story. _

**RabbitsGalore:** _I'm glad_ _that you took the time to read it, I hope you were pleasantly suprised. Here's a new chapter, enjoy it!_

**Yozora:**_ Here is the next chapter. Hope you enjoy. What movie were you talking about? It doesn't ring any bells._

**SasoriAddicted:**_ No more waiting, here's a new chapter!_

**I know there are many unanswered questions about Kaiya and her circumstances, I KNOW, but you'll be finding the answers as the story goes on. Or you can read between the lines and form your own theory, perhaps you'll be closer than you imagine to the truth! **

**Another thing, do you want me to post the traductions to the sentences in japanese under each chapter title?**

**Glossary**

_**Kido: **Demon Arts.__

* * *

_

Hitsugaya Toshirou never thought a hollow would get the better out of him. As it had happened the day he met Tsukiiro Kaiya.

_He had sent the report back to Soul Society, explaining everything he had found out at the moment, and the hollow he had faced, which had possessed a greater strength than that seen previously in others of its kind._

_He opted not to say anything about Kaiya, even though the power he had witnessed coming from her was not an everyday occurrence; the reason being that Kaiya was as normal as any other human. She did possess reiatsu, but its energy level was so low she would never be able to even cast the lowest level Kido._

_She was, however, very sensible to any changes in spirit energy in an impressive radio around her, thus enabling her to sense a hollow before even he did. That picked his interest in her, making him return shortly to Soul Society and search for any information he could find about her family._

_Strangely enough, her family had never shown any kind of "special" ability. Not even those simple ones such as medium ship that some other normal humans showed._

_There was not a single shinigami that had been born originally in the Tsukiiro family before death, none had married a shinigami, and no offspring was created between a shinigami and a human female, like in Kurosaki Ichigo's case._

_Then he thought that perhaps Kaiya was the missing sage, but upon investigating further that theory also went down the drain. There was nothing special in her reiatsu, not even the tingling of purifying particles, no matter how weak, there was no mark in her body, or in any other member of her family, that would make them sages._

_And the King of Soul Society had personally known the sage that was found dead, and he assured Yamamoto-Genryuusai that the probability of him passing on the duty of a sage was highly unlikely. The first reason being that he had hated that fate, of being chained to the small but powerful fragment of the Ou Ken's power. The second was that the sage had lived with no other human contact for the last thirty years of his life._

_So he just decided to label Kaiya as a "freak accident" and left things like that._

_Taking his situation in careful consideration, Hitsugaya decided that it would be beneficial if he stayed within the Tsukiiro's household, until new orders came his way._

_Kaiya didn't protest, she just smirked and nodded, whispering "Welcome, shrimp." _

_He adapted quickly to Kaiya's way of life. And was her silent shadow most of the time. He quickly learned her school schedule, and would leave when she was attending class to return during lunch break, and when she finished her club activities in the afternoon._

_Then they would get into the train together and head home._

_That became their routine.

* * *

_

_**-..Chapter II: In the Absence..-**_

_**-...- **_

_...Ano tsumetai yozora no shita de...kimi no koe ga kieta..._  
_-...-_

The alarm clock on Kaiya's night table started ringing Hitsugaya's ears off at exactly six o'clock in the morning. Thirty minutes later he had a terrible headache and Kaiya had yet to even stir from her sleep. More than a little bit annoyed, Hitsugaya let out a sigh, which came out more like a hiss.

Moving to stand next to her bed, he weighted his options on how to wake her up. From past experiences, he knew Kaiya was not a morning person, and waking her up could result in physical damage if he was not careful.

He looked at the alarm clock and glared. Then he caught sight of the seemingly innocent glass of water, half-full, that sat next to the damn silvery machine he so wanted to murder along with its owner.

He grabbed the glass of water, and in a fluid motion, emptied its contents on the lump of bed sheets that was Kaiya.

The sixteen year old girl shrieked and launched up from her bed with unbelievable speed in her half-awake state. She looked around; glassy violet eyes wide open in surprise as her wet strands of hair clung to her neck and cheeks.

She blinked several times, then she turned her disoriented gaze to Hitsugaya. He saw her irises flash as everything dawned on her. She opened her mouth, to scream at him, but he tackled her before she could even utter the first letter of his name. Or nickname. Or whatever her half-awake mind was going to call him this time.

With a hand on her mouth and his smaller body covering her own, he hissed. "Don't do anything that would have your family rushing in," He whispered. "They can't see me, remember?"

Kaiya looked at him for a few long moments before his words clicked in her mind. Now more awake, her eyes narrowed and nodded.

"Good." Hitsugaya removed his hand from her mouth, but didn't expect her to suddenly move under him harshly. Unprepared, Hitsugaya stumbled as he lost his balance; Kaiya didn't waste time and elbowed him in the chest. The impact didn't hurt at all, but it was enough to send him rolling off her and into the floor with a hard 'thud'.

Hitsugaya stood up, glaring daggers at her. She in turn sneered at him. "You don't want me to cause a scene, remember?"

Then she grabbed her school uniform and entered her bathroom.

"You have twenty minutes!" He shouted at her, out of spite, and smiled in satisfaction when he heard her startled "Eeep!" from within.

* * *

Kaiya raced through the hallways of her school, checking her clock every two seconds to see how much time she had left.

Running next to her, Hitsugaya couldn't help the amused smile that drew itself in his lips. He doubted he had seen another normal human run as fast as this one was currently running.

Kaiya managed to enter the classroom before the teacher had closed the door. The middle aged man looked down at the teenager in amusement and resignation. He looked at his watch. "You made it, by half a minute."

Kaiya smiled, red all over her cheeks, and walked to her seat. She looked back once, and Hitsugaya was no longer standing by the door. She sighed heavily and sat down.

Unbidden, her eyes sailed to the seat next to her, who was situated next to the window. Worry and sadness settled over her features.

In the front, the teacher was calling attendance; he looked around the classroom quickly. "It seems that both, Sakurabi Akiha and Hyoge Yuu are absent again today." His gaze fell on Kaiya. "Tsukiiro-san? Do you know anything about them?"

"Iie, sensei," She said softly, looking down at her desk. She wondered, as did her teacher and fellow classmates, the reason why both had gone missing all of sudden one day.

Kaiya crossed her arms over her table, and then laid her head down on them. She turned towards the window and gazed into space.

She had called the Sakurabi and Hyoge households many times, spoke with her friends' parents asking the same questions over and over_. 'Have they called?'_ or _'Are there any news about them from the police?'_

Yuu's mother had even broken down in tears a few times, leaving Kaiya to try and give some words of comfort to the poor woman.

Akiha's parents were not better off, she noticed that the sudden disappearance of their older daughter was taking its toll on them; the worst thing was that she couldn't do anything to help.

* * *

Lunch came sooner than Kaiya expected, and after buying far too much food she headed over to the roof. There was no one there, except for the black and white robbed kid that rested lazily on the floor.

"Hitsu!" She called, walking towards him with a slight jump in her step. The short shinigami opened one aquamarine eye, staring at her with no surprise. The kid probably heard her coming up the stairs, Kaiya mussed, then snorted. _'Cocky brat.'_

"Whatever you are thinking," Hitsugaya started, sitting up and stretching like a cat. "Must not be endearing."

Kaiya flopped down next to him, and handed him one of the breads she held in her arms. "Go ahead." Hitsugaya nodded his head in silent thanks, and started to eat. Silence reigned over the atmosphere for the few minutes that followed. Kaiya's gaze was lost straight ahead and she was eating absently; this didn't go unnoticed by the shinigami taichou, who had by now noticed that this was a habit of hers.

"Are you always alone?" His murmured question broke the absolute silence, Kaiya turned towards him; violet eyes searching, questioning. "Don't you have any friends?"

Kaiya sighed and laid back on the cold marbled floor. "I do. But they are gone."

"Gone?"

Kaiya nodded, raising one arm to block the glaring sun from midday. "Yes, gone. Poof! Just like that. They went missing one day; I only pray they are safe."

"Mortals?"

Kaiya looked at him. Her eyes wise, old and resigned. "That's what everyone thinks, kidnappers. They curse their existence as their absence drags on. But I know better, and I hate myself because I do, and am unable to tell anyone about it."

"Hollows." Hitsugaya guessed.

Kaiya nodded, rolling a piece of bread between her fingers, looking at it in disdain, as if it was a hollow. "I would say so, but I'm sure they were no normal hollows." Her eyes closed, reliving the feeling, the grasp she got from the wind, the trees, the grass, the animals. "The energy was different, odd if you like. Darker, more sinister and yet controlled, suppressed, held back by sheer cold will. There was blood lust, so much it made me dizzy, and the heat of battle. They fought, both my friends, and yet were taken away."

"The arrancar perhaps." Hitsugaya said more to himself than to her. "Do you know anything about their families?"

"Not about Yuu's. We had just started being friends at the beginning of this year." Kaiya shook her head. "Akiha, I knew her since we were very little. Pretty normal family, but her mother came from a long line of priests and priestesses. Her father told me she was taken in her family temple. Her grandfather was killed the same day she was abducted."

From the look of things, these two, were sages by heritance. Hitsugaya mused. Aizen had killed the old sage in her female friend's case, and taken the yet untrained and unproven young sage. A good strategy, damn good one if you wanted to keep them under control and as quiet as possible.

The chance of him doing it in the boy's case was very a likely, if not definite, possibility.

But he said nothing to the now silent teen at his side, she had enough to bear, he admitted to himself, dealing with hollows when no one around her could see them and with her friends' disappearance.

The bell rang, signaling the start of class once again. Kaiya stood up and looked down at him, a heavy smile in her lips. "I need to go now, I'll see you after club finishes."

Hitsugaya remained quiet as he watched her back disappear behind the door that led inside the building. Kaiya had just shed some light into their situation, if both kids that were abducted were indeed sages, then it was easy to understand the source of Kaiya's weak, but definite, powers.

Besides that, he believed that the key in finding the last sage was a common link all the rest of the sages had. He just had to find that and make use of it.

He stood up, dusted his clothes and was gone in the blink of an eye. He was going to have a little chat with Ukitate, and do some searching in the library, and see what he came up with.


End file.
